18. Linden
Linden
Cass had to recast the barrier on the conservatory two more times before he finally finished the glass.
But by the time he was done, the place looked better than it ever had.
In fact, it was starting to make me wonder if the lightning had been some sort of blessing in disguise.
Even Professor Paulson was impressed and that, especially for Cass, was no small feat.
The final pane of glass went into place the day before spring break.
The moment it did, the greenhouse enchantments snapped into action and began to heat the space once more, driving out the February chill.
Cass’s barrier came down next and sunlight poured through the glass, heating the earth and filling the space with the scent of moss, plants, and growth.
All at once the place seemed alive again and it smelled like home.
“So?” Cass asked, standing there with his hands on his hips, looking proud of the work he’d done. There was soot smeared across his nose. “What do you think? Not bad for a fuckup, huh?”
I gawked openly at the beautiful glass work he’d done. “I don’t think you’re allowed to call yourself that anymore, Sparks,” I replied, smiling at him. “You’re basically a glass master now.”
“You really think so?” he asked, and I could hear the vulnerability beneath the bravado. He wanted me to mean it. After everything he’d been through, all the ways he’d doubted himself, he needed to hear that he was actually good at something.
“Of course I do,” I said, snaking an arm around his waist. “This place is beautiful because of you. This is all your doing.”
He leaned into me, and I felt that familiar warmth spread through my chest, the one that had become a constant companion over the past few weeks. My magic responded instinctively, golden light flickering beneath my skin in those patterns that Cass had started to recognize and smile at.
“I’m proud of you,” I said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Genuinely. You took something that was supposed to be a punishment and turned it into something worthwhile.”
“Yeah, well.” He shifted against me, his arm wrapping around my waist too. “I had good motivation.”
I knew what he meant. Or at least, I hoped I did. But I also knew that Cass had done this for himself too. He’d put in the work, faced his fears about his wild magic, and come out the other side stronger for it. That had nothing to do with me and everything to do with his own determination.
The greenhouse felt different now that it was whole again.
The air was warmer, yes, but it was more than that.
There was a sense of completion, of potential finally being realized.
The surrounding plants seemed to sense it too.
I could feel their life force responding to the restored enchantments, their roots digging deeper into the soil, their leaves unfurling toward the restored sunlight.
It wouldn’t be long before all evidence of the stray lightning bolt was erased and buried in humus.
“Come on,” Cass said, tugging me toward the exit. “We should probably get out of here before Professor Paulson shows up and decides we need to do something else. I want to grab some stuff from my dorm because I don’t plan on leaving your room for the next week.”
I laughed, letting him drag me along. The truth was, I didn’t need much convincing.
The thought of having an entire week with Cass, uninterrupted and without the constant threat of someone walking in on us, was incredibly appealing.
Spring break on campus meant most of the student body would scatter like leaves in the wind, leaving just a skeleton crew of people who either had nowhere else to go or had decided to stay for their own reasons.
As we made our way out of the greenhouse, I caught sight of my reflection in one of the newly installed glass panels.
My skin was glowing faintly with that golden light, my eyes bright with happiness.
I looked like someone who was genuinely, deeply content.
It was a strange feeling, one I was still getting used to.
“You’re smiling like an idiot,” Cass observed as we stepped out into the cool February air.
“Can you blame me?” I replied, letting my hand slip down to his lower back. “Beautiful greenhouse. Amazing boyfriend. Spring break coming up.”
He tensed slightly at the word “boyfriend,” and I felt a flutter of worry in my chest. We hadn’t really used labels before. It had all been so casual, so undefined. But it felt right to me, calling him that. It felt like acknowledging something real and solid that was growing between us.
“Yeah,” he said finally, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “I guess that is pretty good.”
We walked across campus in comfortable silence, our steps in sync as we headed toward the residential buildings.
The late afternoon sun was casting long shadows across the quad, and I found myself thinking about what Professor Paulson had offered me.
The graduate assistant position. Two more years on campus. Two more years with Cass, potentially.
I still hadn’t told him about it. Part of me was waiting for the right moment, and part of me was terrified that if I mentioned it, he’d realize he was stuck with me. That the novelty would wear off, and he’d start resenting the fact that I wasn’t going anywhere.
But another part of me knew that was bullshit.
Cass had chosen this. He’d chosen me, over and over again, in small ways and large ones.
He’d shown up to the greenhouse. He’d taken those lessons with Professor Blackwood.
He’d opened up to me about his parents, his fears, his dreams. That had to count for more than a little something.
We stopped by Cass’s dorm first. True to his word, he already had a bag packed.
He scooped it up and we headed across the quad to my building.
When we reached my dorm room, Cass immediately dropped his bag on the floor and threw himself onto my bed like he owned the place.
Which, honestly, at this point he basically did.
He spent more nights in my room than in his own.
I was starting to really enjoy having something to wake up next to each morning.
“So,” he said, stretching luxuriously across the mattress. “Spring break plans. We’re going to the grove, right?”
“If you want to,” I said, settling down next to him. “I need to check on things there, make sure the heartwood is doing okay without me and recharge a bit. But I understand if you’d rather stay on campus.”
“Are you kidding?” he asked, rolling onto his side. “Of course I want to go with you!”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” I admitted, running my fingers through his dark hair. “I’d love to spend a night there or something, under the stars where we first kissed.”
Cass smiled at that. It was soft and genuine and still caught me off guard. “Yeah? You want to take me back to the scene of the crime?”
“Something like that,” I said. “Plus, the grove is beautiful right now. The trees are starting to come back to life, and the whole place smells incredible. There might even be a few snowdrops if the weather has been good. I think you’d like it.”
He reached over and grabbed my hand, threading our fingers together in a way that had become second nature over the past few weeks. “As long as you’re there, I’ll like it.”
My magic flared at that, golden light dancing across my skin in response to the simple declaration. It was still so easy for him to affect me, to make my entire body respond with want and affection. I was starting to need him as much as I needed air or sunlight.
“We should probably eat something before we do anything else,” I said, even though what I really wanted was to kiss him until we both forgot our own names. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
“Food first,” he agreed, sitting up and stretching. “Then we can figure out logistics. When do you want to head out to the grove?”
“Tomorrow night?” I suggested. “Later on so we can get a nap in or something. That way we can spend the whole night there and come back just after dawn.”
“Sounds good to me,” Cass said, swinging his legs off the bed. “Come on then, big guy. Let’s go find something to eat.”
We made our way to the dining hall, which was noticeably emptier than usual.
Most of the student body had already scattered for spring break, leaving only a handful of stragglers like us.
Even Nerion and Teddy had gone back to their cottage in Greece.
Their absence made the space feel almost cavernous, our footsteps echoing off the high ceilings.
As we grabbed our food and found a quiet corner to sit, I found myself watching Cass more than eating.
The way he moved, the expressions that crossed his face when he was thinking about something, the way his eyes lit up when he was excited about something.
I was becoming increasingly aware that I was falling for him. Hard.
It wasn’t just the sex, though that was definitely a factor.
It was the vulnerability he’d started to show me, the cracks in his armor that were slowly widening to reveal something real and honest underneath.
And the way he made me feel like I was alive.
After all these years of keeping to myself, I finally felt like I was coming into my own, that I was blooming at last. And it was all thanks to my Sparks.
“You’re doing it again,” he said, pointing his fork at me. “You’re thinking too loud.”
“Sorry,” I said, focusing on my food. “Just going through what I need to do at the grove tomorrow.” It was a lame lie, but it seemed to work at least.
“What do you need to do?” he asked, going back to his food.
“There are still a few more cuttings I want to get for the greenhouse,” I said, which wasn’t technically untrue. “I’d like to bring some soil back with me too to inoculate the greenhouse again. Just to make sure the soil flora is recovering well.”
“Sure, yeah,” Cass nodded. “Soil flora. Whatever that means.”
“It’s the microorganisms that live in the soil,” I grinned. “The ones that do all the decomposition and transfer nutrients and—”
“Yep, uh-huh. Science stuff. Right.”
I laughed, reaching across the table to steal a bite of his food. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
“Not even a little,” he said, swatting my hand away but not before I got what I wanted. “So tomorrow night then. We head out to the grove, spend the night under the stars, and come back in the morning. That’s simple enough.”
“Should be,” I agreed, though there was nothing simple about what I was planning.
I’d decided, somewhere between the moment I’d called him my boyfriend and now, that I needed to tell him about Professor Paulson’s offer.
About the graduate assistant position. About the possibility of staying on campus for two more years while he finished his degree.
But not tonight. Tonight was about celebrating what we’d accomplished with the greenhouse. Tomorrow, in the quiet of the grove under the stars, I’d find the right words.
We finished eating and made our way back to my dorm room. The campus was eerily quiet as we walked, the usual bustle of student life replaced by an almost peaceful stillness. It was nice, actually. Like the whole world had slowed down just for us.
Once we were back in my room, Cass immediately stripped down to nothing and climbed into bed, burrowing under the covers like he was planning to hibernate for the rest of the winter.
I stripped off my own clothes and joined him.
He shifted against me immediately, seeking out my warmth like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, running my fingers through his dark hair.
“For what?” he mumbled, already half-asleep.
“For all your hard work. For being here.”
He was quiet for a moment, and I thought maybe he’d fallen asleep. But then he reached up and kissed me softly on the chest, right over my heart.
“Thank you for giving me a reason to try. For believing in me,” he replied. “For seeing something more in me than I did.”
I wanted to tell him that he’d saved himself.
That I’d just been there to witness it. But he was already drifting off, his breathing evening out as sleep claimed him.
So instead, I just held him close and let myself drift as well, content in the knowledge that tomorrow night, under the stars in my grove, I’d finally tell him everything.
Then I felt his fingers find my cock under the blankets, giving it a squeeze.
Clearly he wasn’t as tired as I thought.